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Soaking Wet Worcester Man Arrested For Stealing Copper From Home For Sale

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WORCESTER (CBS) – A 25-year-old Worcester man has been arrested for allegedly stealing copper pipes from a vacant home on Salisbury Street.

Police received a report around 4:25 a.m. Tuesday that a man wearing all black was carrying a bag full of copper piping from the front yard of a home which is currently vacant and listed for sale.

A police officer responding to the area saw two vehicles speed pass him in the opposite direction. A person in the second vehicle flagged down the officer, and told him he saw the man in the first car loading up a bag full of copper from the vacant home.

That vehicle was stopped within seconds on Salisbury Street. The driver, 25-year-old Rafael Muniz was soaking wet. Police found six large plastic bags full of wet copper piping in the back seat.

Tools were found in the suspect’s car, as well as a list of several home addresses. The Salisbury home was on the list.

Worcester Police Detective Bureau are looking at that list to see if any other homes on it may have been hit.

Muniz was arrested and charged with willful and malicious vandalizing of property, breaking and entering in the nighttime with the intent to commit a felony, larceny from a building, possession of burglarious instruments, and receiving stolen property over the value of $250.